UH favors scholarships over tuition waivers

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

A tuition waiver program that benefits thousands of students and costs the University of Hawai'i $17 million a year is being revamped to save money.

The university wants to shift from waivers to academic scholarships, which could spread financial help to more students but result in some receiving less. That raises concern about what the change could mean for students with the greatest financial need, typically racial minorities.

Discussions are under way, and nothing will take effect until approved by the Board of Regents, a move that could be months away.

"It doesn't mean we're getting completely rid of student tuition waivers," said David McClain, vice president for academic affairs, to regents at a recent meeting.

But with changes coming, there's uncertainty about how the new scholarship program will be run and how much flexibility departments will have to determine how the scholarships are distributed.

"Under the new system, if it's up to us, we're still going to provide full tuition," said Kalawai'a Moore, coordinator of retention services and programs for Native Hawaiian Student Services.

For Keala Maikui, a 19-year-old sophomore business administration major, getting a small scholarship and a tuition waiver has meant she could go to school and carry only a part-time job. If the assistance diminishes, that could change.

"That's the only way I'm paying for everything," said Maikui, who is from a small town on Moloka'i. "I probably wouldn't be able to take the full academic load, which means I wouldn't be able to get any scholarships (which require a full load). I already have a job working 12 hours a week but I'd have to increase that dramatically."

As it is, Maikui said, the waiver program is welcome because not only does it pay for tuition, it directs the money to the business office so students don't have to worry about any of the paperwork, or missing any deadline.

Without it, she said, "it would make my life complicated."

There are now a wide number of waivers, everything from need-based waivers to merit-based waivers to those for Pacific island students, UH employees, graduate assistants, band members and athletes.

In looking at making the changes, regents and administrators have noted that scholarships can support students monetarily both for merit and on the basis of need, but can save the school money if they are not full tuition rides. For instance, a scholarship for $1,000 or $2,000 or more provides support but costs the school less to provide. Tuition per semester at UH-Manoa for a full schedule of classes is about $3,500.

Last May, Deane Neubauer, former interim vice president for academic affairs, looked at a variety of ways to increase tuition income without raising tuition again. Included was the suggestion to make changes to the waiver program, and the administration began to look at that option in earnest.

"Reducing the number of waivers, and reducing the number of nonresident tuition waivers, is an alternative to raising tuition across the board," Neubauer wrote at the time.

In 2001-02, approximately $17 million in tuition assistance was provided to 7,630 students systemwide — or about 17 percent of the student body — and included both full and partial tuition waivers.

The Manoa campus receives around 4,700 of the total waivers, with 464 going to UH-Hilo, 96 to UH-West O'ahu and 2,370 to the community colleges.

Moore's office provides full waivers to 110 students based on need, with a preference for those of Native Hawaiian ancestry. Many are receiving no financial assistance from their families because the families don't have the means, according to their federal financial aid forms.

"We'll at least keep the status quo and keep our 110 people solidly funded," Moore said.

Despite the uncertainty because plans aren't final, Moore feels optimistic that the scholarship plan could offer new flexibility to provide extra incentive packages to lure highly sought-after students.

But he's also concerned that the program makes sure those students who are without financial help from their families continue to get the monetary support they need to stay in school.

"It depends if the dollar amount we get is equivalent to the amount we have with waivers," Moore said. "That kind of guarantee hasn't happened yet."

The regents have been debating this issue for a number of months and expect to hear a report in the spring from Doris Ching, vice president for student affairs, offering a firmer set of guidelines to follow.

"But we still intend to transfer from tuition waivers to scholarships," said David Morihara, UH government relations director.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.